Pb, Cd, As, and Se concentrations in livers of dead wild birds from the Ebro Delta, Spain

Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1994 · Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00194139· OSTI ID:6606695

Guitart, R; Mateo, R; Cerradelo, S; Puig-Casado, P ^[1]; Torra, M; To-Figueras, J ^[2]

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1. Clinic Hospital, Barcelona (Spain) Autonomous Univ., Bellaterra (Spain)
2. Clinic Hospital, Barcelona (Spain)

Wild bird populations are susceptible to the environmental presence of toxic elements and substances, especially those that are non-degradable and tend to concentrate through the food chain. Monitoring of such substances in selected bird species could be useful to evaluate the health condition of the species involved and to assess contamination in the ecosystem. One of the most important wild bird sanctuaries of Europe, the Ebro Delta, is situated in NE Spain. The Ebro Delta is an alluvial plain of about 32,000 ha. Because of its special hydrological conditions and geographical situation, the Ebro Delta supports an important and diverse bird population, estimated at 180,000 in the winter period, constituting 311 different species. Most of the Ebro Delta's surface is dedicated to agriculture, principally rice, also serving as an excellent wild bird habitat. Accordingly, agricultural pesticides could be a major problem for wildlife. But in the last few decades the Ebro River and the Tarragona coast have also undergone considerable industrial development. The area is now facing environmental threats by industrial activities, and the ecosystem is becoming contaminated with heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons and PCBS. Heavy metal concentrations in marine organisms have been reported, but metal and metalloid concentrations in birds have not been available. This study monitors lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) concentrations in bird livers from diverse trophic levels in the Ebro Delta. Pb, Cd and As are well recognized as toxic elements, while Se, although causing well known deleterious effects for humans and domestic animals, has only recently been recognized as toxic for aquatic birds. The determination of contaminant loads in several avian species would be useful to control and prevent, when possible, pathological conditions derived from toxic levels of these contaminants for wild bird populations living in the Ebro Delta. 10 refs., 2 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 6606695
• Journal Information: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; (United States), Journal Name: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; (United States) Vol. 52:4; ISSN 0007-4861; ISSN BECTA6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
AROMATICS
ARSENIC
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIRDS
BODY
CADMIUM
CEREALS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
COASTAL REGIONS
CONTAMINATION
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
EUROPE
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GLANDS
GRAMINEAE
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDROCARBONS
LEAD
LILIOPSIDA
LIVER
MAGNOLIOPHYTA
METALS
MONITORING
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PETROLEUM
PLANTS
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
RICE
RIVER DELTAS
SELENIUM
SEMIMETALS
SPAIN
VERTEBRATES
WESTERN EUROPE